Friday, September 4, 2015

Hate Eternal are back, doing what they do best, which is making Morbid Angel look bad (not particularly hard these days). Aside from some slower moments and Vital Remains-ish melodies, Infernus is for the most part a back-to-basics assault of unrelenting blastbeats and blistering riffs. Few people know this music inside and out like Erik Rutan. One of my favourite albums of the year. [$9.99]

Infernus by Hate Eternal
If for whatever reason Vader were unable to perform their duties, I'm sure French heshers Abyssal Ascendant could step into the void. Chronicles of the Doomed Worlds - Part I. Enlightenment from Beyond ties HP Lovecraft's otherworldly mythology to some Vaderiffic metal (with a little Nile and Suffocation thrown in). Great band, but someone should take them to task for that awful cover art and logo.
[And maybe lay down a moratorium on bands with "abyss" in their name.] The album is available as a "name your price" download.

It's a pity Dawn of Chaos called it quits, because the band had the potential for big things. Recorded back in 2012, the posthumously released The Need to Feed displays a knack for killer hooks and memorable songs. The bone dry production isn't particularly to my taste, but it doesn't hinder the music. Hopefully whatever the members get up to next has more of the same. [£5]

Great things have been happening in Poland this year, with the second album by Embrional joining 2015's challenging releases by Blaze of Perdition and Outre. With nods to Behemoth, Decapitated, and Thaw, The Devil Inside takes the established Polish predilection for chaotic speed and skews it towards the avant noir as well as some tricky math metal. Bit of a thinker, this one. [25 PLN]